Nebraska, 2008Flooding in Nebraska, October 22 to 26, 2008
October 22 to 26, 2008 · NWS OAX · 4 events in 3 counties and zones
A large and slow moving upper level system brought widespread heavy rain to a large part of eastern Nebraska on October 21 and October 22. 5 to 3 inches was common for the 24 hours ending 7am CDT October 22 over the Turkey Creek, the middle and upper sections of the Big Blue River and the Wahoo Creek basins.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $55,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
A large and slow moving upper level system brought widespread heavy rain to a large part of eastern Nebraska on October 21 and October 22. Rainfall of 1.5 to 3 inches was common for the 24 hours ending 7am CDT October 22 over the Turkey Creek, the middle and upper sections of the Big Blue River and the Wahoo Creek basins. The heavy rain caused flooding along Turkey Creek near Wilber, along Sand and Wahoo Creeks near Wahoo and Ithaca and the Big Blue River from around Milford downstream through its confluence with Turkey Creek.
Flood, Saline
- When
- October 22, 11:38 AM CST to October 26, 6:30 PM CST
- Where
- Saline County, 3.56 mi SE of De Witt to 1.45 mi NW of Shestak
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 40.360, -96.877
Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell over much of the Turkey Creek basin on October 21 and October 22. The rain caused Turkey Creek to flood from near DeWitt to near and upstream of Wilber. Turkey Creek near Wilber reached its first crest of around 12.7 feet during the late morning hours of October 23. Due to heavy rains that fell on the 21st and 22nd across the upper reaches of the basin, the creek remained near that elevated level through mid afternoon on the 26th. Flood stage is 11 feet. Although a few county roads were flooded, the flooding mainly affected agricultural farmland.
Flood, Saline
- When
- October 22, 1:44 PM CST to October 25, 3:15 AM CST
- Where
- Saline County, Crete to 0.6 mi N of Crete
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 40.630, -96.950
Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell over much of the middle and upper sections of the Big Blue River basin on October 21 and October 22. The rain caused the Big Blue River to flood for a prolonged period from Crete downstream to near DeWitt. The river near Crete crested at 21.7 feet around 915pm CDT on 10/24, flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding affected agricultural farmland and also closed a few county roads in the area.
Flood, Seward
- When
- October 22, 1:44 PM CST to October 25, 3:15 AM CST
- Where
- Seward County, 2.5 mi SSE of Grover to 2 mi SE of Milford
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $10,000
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 40.747, -97.011
Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell over much of the middle and upper sections of the Big Blue River basin on October 21 and October 22. The rain caused the Big Blue River to flood for a prolonged period from near Milford downstream to around DeWitt, which is in Saline County. The river near Crete, which is in Saline county, crested at 21.7 feet around 915pm CDT on 10/24, flood stage is 18 feet. The flooding affected agricultural farmland, closed a few county roads in the area and caused the delay of local bridge construction just south of Milford which was damaged by flooding over the summer.
Flood, Saunders
- When
- October 22, 3:00 PM CST to October 24, 6:00 AM CST
- Where
- Saunders County, 1.47 mi ENE of Ashland to 1.83 mi S of Mead
- Cause
- Heavy Rain
- Property damage
- $25,000
- Reported by
- Official NWS Observations
- Coordinates
- 41.056, -96.353
Rainfall of 2 to 3 inches fell across much of Saunders county on 10/21 and 10/22. The heavy rain caused Sand Creek to flood around Wahoo and Wahoo Creek to flood from near Wahoo downstream through Ithaca to around Ashland. Several county roads were flooded in this area as was Highway 92 west of Wahoo and Highway 77/92 near its Jct with Highway 109 east of town. The flooding washed the gravel off of several county roads but otherwise damage was minimal and was restricted to river lowlands.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, October 22, 2008$6,000 · 1.25 in hail · 7 events
- Winter Storm and High Wind in Nebraska, October 22 to 23, 2008$8,000 · 4 events
- High Wind in Kansas, October 22 to 23, 200854 kt wind · 4 events
- Hail in Texas, October 22, 2008$7,000 · 1.75 in hail · 3 events
- Heavy Rain in Florida, October 22, 20082 events
- High Wind in South Dakota, October 22, 20082 events
- Hail in Texas, October 22, 20080.88 in hail · 1 event
- Frost and Freeze in Oregon, October 22, 20081 event
- Flood in Iowa, October 22, 2008$10,000 · 1 event
- High Wind in Texas, October 22, 20081 event
- High Wind in Colorado, October 22, 200851 kt wind · 1 event
- High Wind in Nebraska, October 22, 200856 kt wind · 1 event
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 132872, 132874, 137085, 137084.